Author Q&A with Russell ~ Part Two

Thanks to increased visibility on social media and following Russell’s recent interview with Amara Wynn (as well as the community getting their hands on the latest release in The Reaper List series), we’ve received a growing number of informal questions. Part One of Russell's responses can be found here. Find Part Two below!

Before we get into some of the questions we had planned, several readers sent follow-up questions after our previous Q&A. One of those was about music. You mentioned some time spent writing lyrics and using it as inspiration. Can you expound on that?

Russell: Sure, I mean in college I went through a period where I wrote several songs… no instrument or sheet music-type stuff. I don’t have the knowledge base for that. But they were lyrics that went a bit past what I would consider simply poetry. It had a pop flair (laugh). I’ll have to see what I can find and throw it up on Instagram or something. Music also has its place in my writing. I can think of a few moments where I touch on it… I recall inventing a band, Martyr, for Number 181 that one of the victims was listening to during a run. Martyr is enough of a punk rock band name that it probably exists out there somewhere, but I just thought it sounded cool. The song she is listening to is one I wrote, though.

And in Kidd, I make reference to a couple rock bands. Shawn is listening to one as he works out that is only thinly disguised as Halestorm. And of course, Jana takes him to see Beyond the Black. Both are real – and fantastic – bands.

No interest in playing music yourself?

Russell: I wouldn’t say no interest. Just as with writing, I’ve had to pick and choose what I spend my time doing. I’ve been toying with learning the drums, though.

Drums? Not guitar?

Russell: There was a time when I considered that, but my time at concerts has indicated that I find drumming to be more interesting. Can’t take my eyes off them. That even slipped into a scene in Kidd.

Any favorite drummers?

Russell: Growing up, it was Phil Collins. These days, I’m impressed by Arejay Hale of Halestorm… Jen Ledger with Skillet. She sings, too, and her voice is very impressive.

Alright, well getting back to your books. We had questions come in on your cover designs, as well. What can you tell us about your design philosophy?

Russell: Well, my covers seem unusual when I look at books today. It’s genre specific, but military and espionage thrillers seem to really highlight the author while using open-source images for the cover. Especially the big name authors. They just have their names in 200pt font and move on. I would love to get to the point that all my books need is my name. Or, maybe not… I like the cover design process too much. Some genres… whew… I appreciate anyone with artistic talent, but the increased usage of all-AI is really flooding the market with some obnoxious cover art. My opinion. It is very cut-and-paste and overly repetitive. That or so poorly done that it makes me want to avoid the story inside. Most people have thousands of photos on their phones, and a lot can be done with a couple hours of practice with a free editor. Or just go minimalistic. Find something that is simple and carries your tone. I think the all-AI covers are already reaching an inflection point and are seeing a lot of pushback from readers. I know authors and illustrators are already sick of it, but many bookstores and events won't even let you showcase your books if there are hints of AI in them.

Most editing programs use AI to some extent... Photoshop, Canva…. It’s hard to avoid it all together. But these ‘enter a prompt and slap the output on your book’ approaches aren’t what I want to see in a book I’m reading. To each their own, though. I think it’s much more common in some genres than others. One thing that I think is cool is that I’m on the cover of each of my books.

What do you mean?

Russell: Well, like I said… everyone has tons of photos on their phone. Over the years, I’ve had opportunities to do some fun things with my time, personally and professionally. I’ve traveled extensively, I’ve spent time with members of the military and on numerous installations, fired all manner of weapons… the silhouette on the cover of Number 181 is me with a sniper rifle at Quantico. Kidd has an image of me at Explosive Ordinance Disposal training. For Tin Man, I donned a ski mask and edited the resulting photo. Like I said, I enjoy it nearly as much as writing and can get a bit too hands-on with the whole thing.

I think we’re beginning to see what you mean when you say that you have to prioritize your time. You’re all over the place.

Russell: (Chuckle). Yeah, I think I’m a pretty lazy person, but others might disagree. I used to run more, but years of it and baseball have led to regular complaints from my knees. But I’ve run a dozen marathons, a few ultra marathons through the mountains, a 50-miler… and I’ve done more endurance events than I can count. Carrying rucksacks full of weight through cities all over the world… from the waters around Normandy, France, to Savannah to D.C. to Austin… I’ve made many poor decisions… usually at the behest of crazy friends. I can’t claim to be blameless, though. I’ve dragged some of them through my psychosis, too.

You know doing that voluntarily isn’t something a normal person does?

Russell: (Slow nod). I’m aware I'm not normal.

You mentioned time at Quantico and EOD, as well as these world travels. Turning to research for a minute, your books get into a good bit of detail in certain parts, geography, engineering… could you describe your approach to research?

Russell: It’s one of my favorite parts of writing. But I can get a bit too far into the details. When I’m describing a town, I really dig into it. Streets are real. Shops and stores. Intersections. I often have a map open on my laptop as I’m writing.

I’ll look up plants indigenous to an area, something I did for Switzerland and Texas. I’ll go as far as to look up how busy airports are to see if it makes sense for a character to take a red eye from one. Stuff that is probably not necessary in the grand scheme of things.

Any favorite topics?

Russell: Oh, definitely. Researching air traffic controller communications for Kidd was a bit too much fun. I had to cut half of that chapter’s initial draft because I was so far in the weeds that I couldn’t see the sun. It was ruining the tempo. Making use of Street View on maps can get me in trouble, too. I doubt the average reader cares if the construction materials used for façade of a building are accurately identified, but they’re gonna hear it anyway.

It does have the pleasant side effect of bringing up memories of times I spent in those places or providing interesting things for me to check out if I eventually visit. My favorite of those was when I went to Campo Santo Stefano in Venice, Italy, last year, site of a fun meeting between Shawn and Erik Bless in Tin Man. That scene written around the Niccolò Tommaseo statue is one of my favorite dialogue scenes.

I recall that one. It ends with a great line.

Russell: (Laugh). Has to be one of the top three of mine that I’ve ever written.

Do you have any other favorite lines or scenes?

Russell: Another that comes to mind is Jeremiah's comment to Shawn in Tin Man about what he's gone through. "It's not a tragedy if no one survives to suffer. Then, it's just the end." I recall stopping after I wrote that... feeling I needed to frame the scene more around it to do it justice. Most of my other favorites are examples of Shawn's sarcastic nature.

I also enjoy the fumbling explanations people give when they try to explain Shawn to others. Maurice's attempt with Anders in Number 181 comes to mind. In his telling of a story, Shawn has punched a bouncer. Maurice said that, to Shawn, "winning means different things to different people." In the bar fight, Shawn was always going to lose, but he kept those other guys from winning. I had some introspective moments after writing that. (Laugh).

I also really like Jana trying to explain Shawn to him. The exchange in which she creates the verb 'unexpect' and proceeds to use it multiple times... I laughed out loud at that one. "Here you are, unexpecting all over the place." Still makes me chuckle.

As far as scenes go, the entire sequence in Venice is a favorite that I always mention when asked this question. The action and pacing... and ending to it. Really enjoyed writing that one. The Pittsburgh tunnel scene, as well. Outside of the action scenes, the night Jana and Shawn spend at the outdoor concert was a blast to imagine and get down on paper. I can still feel the atmosphere of that car ride.

But I enjoy when people send me a note with something they enjoyed, because it's often a line that I didn't intend to land so strongly with the reader... but it did with them. I think that's great.

Ok. Swerving a bit, this question might be my favorite given what we've already discussed. Favorite television shows? Apparently ever… the poster wasn’t clear. Let’s widen that to movies, bands, books, or whatever.

Russell: Wow… well, I’ve already talk about some bands that I enjoy. And even a couple authors and books. As for television… I don’t watch as much as others. That probably has something to do with that ‘prioritization’ thing we talked about. But some immediately come to mind. Supernatural, Smallville, Psych, Castle…

Rattling those off seems to make it clear why Shawn is so flippant and sarcastic. I’m drawn to that, even when it’s done in a dramatic setting. Oh, Community is fantastic. Recently… Only Murders in the Building, Man on the Inside, The Good Place… anything with Ted Danson apparently. (Laugh). Quantum Leap, the OG… though the little bit I saw of the new one wasn’t bad. When it comes to new stuff, I’ve enjoyed The Night Agent and Bodyguard. And Reacher, which is a great series of books, I should add. And nearly all Hallmark movies.

I’m… I’m sorry. Did you say “Hallmark”?

Russell: Oh, yeah. The Christmas movies are a great entry drug, but once you’re in… your gonna be watching them all regardless of season.

That’s… surprising.

Russell: (Laugh). Yes, I expect so. They’re comfort food and many are largely interchangeable... but I really like them. I think my affinity for them even affected the first half of Kidd. I expect some of the actors might show up in my casting call for my books. In fact, as I think about it, one of them really served as an establishing persona for Jana… both in personality and in appearance.

Oh? Which one?

Russell: (Laugh). Let’s leave that to the casting call post.

Well, now I want to guess myself! I’m not sure I have the knowledge base of Hallmark actors for it, though. Before we really go down a rabbit hole, can you tell us what you are working on now?

Russell: Oof, way more things than I have time for. With the release of Kidd, I’ve decided to be much more aggressive with marketing and sales. I put zero effort into it previously, but I’ve enjoyed the process, so far. It’s required me to open some social media accounts and focus on community interaction and self-promotion, things that I’ve not enjoyed in the past… nor been very good at. But it’s been fun meeting others in the indie industry and learning about marketing, ad development, in-person signings… it’s been pretty cool. Still, it’s been hard to not have other book ideas bubble to mind. The Reaper List wrapped up pretty nicely, though my initial plan to have it be more ‘final’ ended up in the trash can. Still, there are a few ideas I have for stories in that universe.

But what’s been taking up my thoughts now is an expansion of a short story that I wrote several years ago.

This is the story that you’ve been including in your Welcome emails to subscribers to the site.

Russell: Yes, the short story is very baseball-focused, a theme that shows up in the Reaper List series a few times because I played amateur ball for so long. But as I was developing some of the surrounding story for it, it grew into an interesting research piece on serial killers… Kansas City in the 1970s… and the twilight days of organized crime. How’s that for a teaser?

There are many more moving parts in the story than my previous works, so it’s taking more effort on the front end to plot it out. Much more deliberate and a different kind of research than I’ve done previously. But I can’t wait to get a draft together… some time in between the Day Job, the marketing of the Reaper List series, and planning for in-person events. Plenty of free time!

Tune into Part 3 where we see which actors Russell could envision bringing The Reaper List series to life!